(Original post by Shaz51)
Hey I am a gap year student and got A*A*B in Maths, Chemistry and Biology respectively. Do you think it is wise for me to apply to Glasgow and apply to a medicine course even?

Best to email admissions and ask if your A*A*B is equivalent/acceptable. You must also have a B or better in English at GCSE. Also, you need to sit the UKCAT and decide if your score is likely to meet the cut-off. Last years was 652.5.

I am a first-time applicant and I was a bit scared about PBL at first as well but now after reading about it more and talking to people about it I think it sounds exactly like how I like to learn! I have heard that Glasgow might be dropping PBL in the future though

Hi guys, I'm from Glasgow. Just wanting to wish you all good luck with your applications for 2012! Although I'll be starting my medical degree this year in England, I had a chance to recently speak with one Glasgow graduates from this year who was discussing the changes that is being brought in for the new medics.

From what most people will be aware of, Glasgow has been performing pretty poorly in the student satisfaction ratings every year for a while now. One of the biggest criticisms is that graduates haven't had any real structure in their teaching/training while at Glasgow so have gaps in their knowledge in some areas. The head of undergraduate medicine (who was a GP) was sacked along with head of year 3 (also a GP). They have both been replaced with physicians. The head of year 5 had also been replaced although this may be a temporary measure due to sickness. The Glasgow course was very GP oriented which is ironic as they had been criticised for producing good specialists but not good GPs as they lacked the core knowledge required.

1st year is meant to be quite unaffected except there will now be proper structured anatomy teaching which runs from years 1 to 5 (including cadaver dissection, prossection, and computer designed learning). The anatomy teaching progresses onto radiological anatomy, CTs, etc. I took part at a PBL session a few months ago at Glasgow Medical School and they were saying that they aren't necessarily cutting down on the PBL now but there will less PBL sessions at the start of the first semester of the course before moving up to the usual range of PBL sessions per week.

3rd year should be a completely new structure for the course with a particular focus on core medicine. Previously the medics were in GP clinic placements each week but they will now be attached to specific departments in order to develop their clinical teaching.

In years 4 and 5, there was previously 5 week blocks for placements but this is going to be moved up to 10 week blocks in specialities now. It will be a requirement that everyone will have to experience working in A+E now.

Anyway I'm sure that more and more details will be publicised pretty soon. They all sound like really positive changes being made. Glasgow is a fantastic city to live in and the university is definitely one of the most beautiful things about Glasgow (including the incredible Wolfson building which has quite a hospital feel to it once you get upstairs).

(Original post by Caolan)
I heard Glasgow were changing their course structure for 2012, something about really reducing PBL in first year.
Anyway, I'm applying regardless.

Yes they are changing it from 2011-2012. So basically this year. They will be only 1 pal session for a limited time and more lectures to help build key knowledge as this was a criticism of Glasgows course

I'm a first time applicant too. I went to Glasgow's open day and really love the sound of it...even PBL. Personally, I think that PBL would suit me better since I wouldn't be able to concentrate just listening to a person talk for a long period of time Currently, although I've not been to the open days at Edinburgh or Aberdeen yet, Glasgow is my favourite so far...although there's the dreaded UKCAT and it's cut off scores to think about!

(Original post by ScottishShortiex)
I'm a first time applicant too. I went to Glasgow's open day and really love the sound of it...even PBL. Personally, I think that PBL would suit me better since I wouldn't be able to concentrate just listening to a person talk for a long period of time Currently, although I've not been to the open days at Edinburgh or Aberdeen yet, Glasgow is my favourite so far...although there's the dreaded UKCAT and it's cut off scores to think about!

(Original post by mckinnon94)
Before 2012 you got 2 PBLs a week, for 2012 entry you'll be getting 1 PBL a week.

From what I have read about the old course 2 was a bit much, hopefully this will be an improvement. I think i would prefer a mix of lectures/PBL than just one or the other.
Are the changes only in the 1st year curriculum?

(Original post by Andrew Mooney)
I'm applying to Glasgow this year, I'll be applying through the Access to Medical Studies course at Stow College. Definitely have my heart set on Glasgow, so here's hoping.

So I gather it's all change regarding the Glasgow curriculum then?

AFAIK - Not huge changes tbh. Just the medical school taking on board issues that previous students have had and amending things to address those issues. Can let you know more about course once I've started.